Wide Awake
by TheNitemareDoll
Summary: When Manny chooses another Guardian, Tooth, North, Bunny, Sandy, and Jack are thrown into a world of peril, mysterious strangers, and a veiled war that has raged for centuries. How will the Guardians cope with this new challenge? (This story is rated M for a reason. Eventual violence and adult themes. Cannon characters with original characters.
1. Imagination

Wide Awake

Rise of the guardian' fan fiction by TheNitemareDoll

I don't own nor take claim to Rise of The Guardians or it's character. Enjoy!

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It was a cold December day, Jamie was returning home from school. He was excited because it was winter break, which meant he could hang out with Jack, well after he finished his homework, anyway. The sooner he finished his homework, the more time he'd have to have fun. Jamie was clear in his resolve, with a solid goal as he entered his home. He raced up to his room and set up all of his homework on his desk. Jamie popped his knuckles and pulled up his chair to start his homework.

It felt like it he had been working for an eternity on his homework. Jamie's face scrunched up in frustration. His door hinges squeaked as he heard his mom, Melissa, come in; she had brought him a plate of snacks up for him.

Melissa was proud of him, working so hard on his studies. He had been working a good solid two hours. It was understandable that he would get burned out on his work. She smiled at him and looked over his shoulder. "What are you working on that's got you so grumpy?' She asked, genuinely curious.

Jamie huffed. "An art project, Mister Jennings wants me to expand my ideas and try something new…" Jamie seemed miffed. "…he thinks I draw too many picture of Jack and the other Guardians." Jamie's mom looked around his room, the pictures of Jack, Santa, the Easter Bunny; a strange woman who her son believed to be the Tooth Fairy, and even the Sandman. Not many people really talked about the sandman as much as they used to. She always knew he was into myths, but his interest seemed to have peaked more in the last year or so. She sighed and ruffled his hair. "Maybe it's time for a break; you know all this homework can fry your brain. What fun would winter break be with a fried brain?" Melissa tried to coax her son; he usually would be outside playing with his friends right about now.

Jamie turned to his mom and shook his head. "I can't, I want to get this done so I don't have to worry about it later." Jamie said as he grabbed some celery with peanut butter on it, chewing the snack before going back to drawing. Melissa sighed as she sat down on Jamie's bed, watching her son draw vigorously. 'Well now how do I get him to take a break?' She looked around the room and down at her bare feet, her jeans barely covering them up. She scratched her medium length, curly brown hair. Melissa's attention was drawn to Jamie's frustrated groan and him hitting his head on the table.

"Hey, don't do that." She stood up and walked over to her son and put her hands on Jamie's shoulders. "See you need a break. If you're not inspired to do it, it won't be fun." Melissa smiled as Jamie looked up at her, his face kind of disappointed. "I wanted to be done by the time Jack showed up, I would be free to play." Her smile fell a little. Melissa felt like she knew something that might help her son. Her face lit up as a thought came to mind. "Hold on, I have an idea." She wandered out of her son's room and into her own.

Jamie pushed his chair out and followed his mom. She was searching through her drawers, mumbling about something grandma gave her. "Oh, here it is!" She said, wandered back over to Jamie and crouched down to his level. She held a flat stone; it was dark green and looked smooth. "Now I know this doesn't look like much, but my mother gave this to me when I need motivation, a muse if you would. She told me that whenever I got frustrated or stuck to just rub this between my fingers." Melissa gently rubbed the stone between her fingers, feeling nostalgia for the stone. "I thought it was silly, but every time I got upset and used this stone I felt inspired. So I'll let you have it for now." Jamie's face lit up at his mom. "Thanks, mom you're the best!" Jamie gave her a huge hug and took the stone, his mom affectionately ruffling his hair before leaving him to his drawings.

Jamie ran back over to this chair. He got as comfortable as he could and rubbed the stone between his fingers. The texture felt rougher then he thought it looked. As he rubbed, the green of the stone seemed to glitter for a moment. He stopped, blinking. 'Did the stone just change?' He started to rub it again, the green shimmered and he felt a sudden surge of inspiration. He knew what to draw for this project, in a fury of crayons and scribbles he drew. He'd never felt like this before, not with homework at least. He stopped for a minute to look at his drawing. It looked awesome! It was him as a super hero fighting a shadow figure; explosions of color filled the background. "Wow, why couldn't I have drawn that sooner?" Jamie picked up and held his artwork at arm's length, admiring his work.

"It is pretty neato, huh?"

Jamie's eyes went wide, dropping his piece of art. That wasn't Jack's voice and it wasn't his mom's voice. Slowly he turned to his right, where he had heard the voice. A strange woman was standing behind him, holding her thumb just below her lip. Jamie's eyes got wider as terror tried to seep into him, but the woman seemed to sense this. She quickly bent down to his level. "Woah, woah calm down. You called me." She pointed to something on the table. Jamie turned carefully, keeping one eye on the woman. For all he knew this was some sort of trick, unsure of this woman's intentions. He saw what she was pointing to, it was the stone. "So no need to worry, little guy I'm not here to hurt you." Her voice was friendly, but had a bit of gruffness behind it. Jamie turned back to look at her; he had been too terrified to notice anything about this woman before. She had white skin, splattered in different colored paints; her light green hair pulled back by a headband. Oddly, she had piercings at either side of her mouth and one in her eyebrow. And her eyes, it caught Jamie off guard; they were a bright translucent green which felt like they held some mysterious secret. "You okay, kid?" She asked worried, Jamie was transfixed on her eyes, but still nodded slowly. "Well if you're not going to introduce yourself I will. I'm Muse." Muse extended her hand out to him. Jamie snapped out of it, shaking her hand. "Oh, I'm Jamie!" He could've sworn she was some stranger that got in the house by the way she was dressed: in jean overalls and a t-shirt, which were also covered in paint. "It's wonderful to meet you Jamie. Funny most people can't see me." Muse said her eyes shimmering for a second. Jamie cocked his head in confusion. "What does that…"

Suddenly a cold breeze blew open the window. Jamie looked up to see his favorite guardian, Jack Frost. "Hey Jamie!" He greeted excitedly. "Jack! You're back." Jamie ran over and hugged Jack and Jack of course hugged back. "Oh, Jack look what I drew!" Jamie smiled while jumped up and down, excitedly. He ran over and grabbed the picture off the ground, where it had fallen.

Jack looked at the picture that Jamie drew, it was pretty good. Jack looked at super hero Jamie fighting, who he could only guess was the super villain version of Pitch. Vivid colors that resembled building and explosions littered the scenery. "That's awesome, Jamie." Jack smiled at Jamie and Jamie smiled back before looking for Muse. It appeared she had lain down beside his bed while they had been talking. "Jack I want you to meet my new friend, she helped with my drawing." Jack looked interested to say the least. Jamie wandered over towards Muse who sat up and stretched. "This is Muse." Jamie gestured to the space beside his bed. "Why if it isn't Jack Frost as I live and breathe." Muse stated as she watched Jack out of the corner of her eye.

Jack looked confused at Jamie and then back at the empty space, not seeing this person he was talking about. "Uh, Jamie you feeling alright, there's nobody there?" Jack walked over to Jamie and put his hand on Jamie's forehead. Muse stood up quickly as Jack almost stepped on her. "Woah, watch it Jack I know you can't see me, but I wish you would consider that maybe his imaginary friend is real." Muse huffed. Jamie batted Jack's hand away. "I'm fine, you really can't see her?" "No I really can't see her…" Jack looked around to see what Jamie was talking about, but saw no one, human or otherwise. Jamie looked kind of sad and looked at Muse, who had moved to the other side of the room. "He can't see you, is it because no one believes in you?" Muse smiled and walked back over to Jamie. "Nah, that's not what it is. Don't worry about it; the guardians have never ever been able to see me. Not in the in all of the centuries that I've lived, have they been able to see me. Just means you are special." She gave a half grin. "You should go play with Jack, before it gets too dark. Also he's super confused." Muse pointed at Jack and Jamie looked over at him. Indeed Jack was looking at Jamie like he had an elephant's trunk for a nose and walked over to Jamie. "You sure you are okay?" Jamie nodded seeming to brighten up from whatever "this Muse" had said. "Yep, alright let's go play out in the snow." Jack looked worried, but was going to let it go. "Alright, then I'll meet you outside!" Jack's enthusiasm returning as Jamie ran downstairs. Jack nervously laughed. "What a crazy kid." That's when a rogue snowball hit him in the back of the head. Jack turned to where the snow ball came from, none other than the empty space at the side of Jamie's bed.

Muse couldn't help but smirk at her perfect head shot. The freaked out expression on Jack's face as he searched the room for the snowballs origin was frosting on the cake. She didn't normally get to haze the guardians, but when she could it was always priceless. Like the time Bunnymund had awoke to his fur being dyed a fetching color of chartreuse. Bunnymund had ranted and raved for weeks after the small prank. He had been the ugly yellowy green color for a day. Muse wandered towards the window as Jack cautiously left the room, seeming to not trust his back to anything but the window. All Muse could do is chuckle as she watches him join the children in a snowball fight, Jack seeming to forget about the whole imaginary friend hitting him with a real snowball.

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Muse leaned on the railing watching the guardian of fun. A strange longing coming over her, wishing that she could be as carefree as the guardians, well as calm as a life style they had. At least the Guardians could affect the children directly; while Muse could only guide them along indirectly. She huffed, but was pulled from her thoughts as the oppressive atmosphere began to build. It didn't take much to guess who was causing it. Muse turned around, eyes locking onto a Black robed figure with gray skin. The figures intense golden eyes scanned the room, as Muse had worried Jamie's fear beforehand might awaken the king of nightmares, Pitch Black. His sneer said it all, like he had just walked into a sewer and he couldn't wait until he could leave.

Pitch's eyes looked around the room of one of his most disliked humans. Pitch's life had gone downhill since this little snot and his friends had stood up to him with the help of the Guardians. Pitch's sneer became angrier as he looked around the room, pictures on the walls. Every one of the drawings was of those wretched Guardians. He wanted nothing more than to shred every last image in this room. Pitch stormed over to the wall, slashing at the images with his sharp nails. The images were left undamaged much to Pitch's rage. It was close to a year since his defeat and he couldn't even affect these infuriating pictures.

Muse watched as Pitch slashed at the images. Her face serious and holding concerns, although not for the drawings. Only the artist could destroy their work, as long as it was in her presence. Had Pitch not been in such a rage he would've seen that the wall was littered with fine scratches behind the pictures. Muse rose up from her spot and carefully walked towards the other in the room. He had always been the angrier of the spirits. She stood in front of Pitch, staring into his spiteful eyes. Pitch had stopped slashing at the walls; Muse would have been insane to stand in front of the fuming king of nightmares. "Oh Pitch when will you realize that anger will only get you so far." Muse's voice was soft and held no roughness to it as she reached her hand out to cup Pitch's face.

Pitch huffed heatedly, wanting to destroy everything in his sight. He had run out of energy with his little slash-fest, as it was he had very little energy. Without children to fear him, Pitch's energy source was lacking to say the least. He focused on just the feeling of his labored, livid breaths. A warm prickling feeling took over the left side of his face and brought him out of his mind. He hated the feeling, it happened every so often at random. Often times the feeling would come when he was alone. Pitch brushed his hand across the area that tickled. The feeling leaving him, Pitch huffed. "Nothing left for me to do here…" Pitch swept himself around, walking towards the closet. One of the many ways he could travel back to his lair easily.

Muse stood there biting at her lower lip piercings, her hand crumpled but still held in the air. Her face reflected sorrow as Pitch retreated to the closet, disappearing to his world of darkness and fear. Lowering her hand, she turned and walked over to shut the window. The sound of the children's laughter seemed to float on the frosty air. Suddenly white hot pain filled Muse's senses; blood dripped down from her lip. She forced herself to stop biting her lip. Of course, just her luck, she stared down at the blood on the floor. The blood contrasted with the wooden floorboards, as it seemed to glow a dull red color. After all these years, Muse was still attached to Pitch. The first of many of …of his creations…she looked up at the sky, the moon stared back at her. His voice slowly filtering through the open window, Muse cringed at the carefully worded sentences. She frowned. "No, You know why I can't…You know why….I...I….c-can't." Muse slammed the window shut. She knocked on the wall and a portal opened and swept her to another part of the world where she didn't have to hear Manny's words.

Jack walked back from Jamie's house. Night had fallen and Jamie needed to return home. The cold night air feeling amazing on his skin and the crunch of fresh snow under his feet made him miss the North Pole. North had become very busy what with Christmas coming up. Jack couldn't really blame North for asking Jack to not bother him for the next few weeks. North was behind in making presents and couldn't handle any distractions. Since Pitch was defeated, there wasn't much for Jack to do. An idea came to mind why not spread his wintery fun across the state. Jack laughed at the idea. "Oh man, this will be the best few days." A strong wind picked up around him and he jumped into the winds letting it carry him to his destinations.

A few days passed, Jamie had deemed this one of the best breaks he had had in a while. Best part of all, tomorrow was Christmas! He had wanted Jack to spend Christmas Eve with him, but he said he had a duty to help North deliver presents. Jack did promise he would visit on Christmas day at least. Jamie was happy enough with that. He sat at his desk; looking at the picture he drew the beginning of break. While gazing at his drawing something caught his eye, Muse's green stone. Jamie had totally forgotten about her.

Jamie felt bad that he had forgotten about her, after Muse had helped him with his homework. He picked up the stone and rubbed it between his fingers. He waited a few minutes and Muse was nowhere to be seen. Jamie knitted his eyebrows in worry, where was she? He rubbed the stone again. It felt smooth and he didn't see the glimmer like before. Maybe the stone was broken or something happened to Muse… Jamie's worry turned to fear.

A hand grabbed his shoulder, his whole body jolted from the sudden touch. He turned quickly to see a very tired and disheveled looking Muse. "Hey you called?" Her voice sounded tired. All Jamie could do was jump up and hug her tightly. Muse blinked a few times, confused as to why Jamie was so excited to see her. They had only worked together once before. Most humans became more attached after the sixth visit. "I thought something bad had happened to you and I wouldn't get to see you again." Jamie exclaimed. Muse relaxed and patted Jamie's head. 'What do you expect from the one who helped save the world with the Guardians? Of course he would get attached to you, he became attached to Jack quite easily too.' She mused to herself, looking down at the young boy.

"Here's the thing Jamie, I'm not like the Guardians. I will never disappear or become invisible. Once you can see me then you will always see me. I don't need believers, but sometimes it nice to have a few. I'm a different kind of being than the others." Muse's voice dipped quietly as she tried to explain to Jamie. Jamie just listened to her talk, still holding on to Muse. He felt like he understood, but her explanation seemed off, like she was avoiding something. "I...I… I am an older entity, but I am also the spirit of creativity. B…but more of a d…d…divinity than spirit and it's hard to exterminate a being of that caliber." Muse stumbled across the words, unsure of how to explain this peculiar concept to young child.

"I can't say for sure I understand it myself, but I…i…it's the best explanation I have come up with." Jamie looked up at Muse, unsure of a few words. "So you're de vente? Not a spirit?" he asked unsure of what she was trying to say. "Er…ummm, yes, but at the same time no. Let's just call me the unofficial Guardian of Creativity and make this whole thing easier on both of us." Jamie scrunched up his nose, but nodded. "Alright, I think that would make more sense than what you said." Muse blushed a bit looking out the window. "Y…yeah, I'm not the best at explaining that, it's still kind of n….n…new to the whol…" Muse shuddered, but noticed it was ten at night. "….Oh Sh….iiii….ooot! Would you look at the time, it late and Santa won't come if you are up." Muse said, barely saving her from her own bad habit of cursing. Jamie looked at the clock, she was right it was late. Jamie let go of Muse and hurried around, starting to change into his sleepwear.

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Hey, hope you liked this. This is the beginning of my first fanfiction ever, Hopefully you enjoyed. Sorry if the my grammar is off or something doesn't sound right, not the best at writing and got a friend to read through it with me. I want to feel out the waters, i might update with another chapter for fun. This was just an idea that came along with seeing so many Original characters pop up with this series. Thanks for reading, Drop me a review and a rating. It's much appreciated!


	2. Priceless moments

Here's chapter two, finally. Thanks you those who reviewed! It was good motivator to update. Enjoy

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Muse blushed harder and ran out of the room, trying to give the boy some space. Even being an unofficial guardian of creativity, nudity sometimes made her feel uneasy. It didn't help he was just a child and even by art standards it was awkward.

Jamie leaned around the door, having finished getting dressed. He was trying to see where Muse had run off to. He looked at her standing with her back to the door. "Hey Muse?" She turned hearing her name. "Huh? What is it?" "Would you mind staying around for the night?" Jamie asked while looking down at his feet. Muse half smirked at him. "You want me to hang around?" She pretended to think really hard. "I guess I could do that, got nothing better to do."

Jamie looked up and smiled, pulling her back into the room. Muse rolled her eyes, with a smirk on her face. Jamie settled into his bed and he was out like a light as soon as Sandy's magic sand crept in through the window. It had knocked the tired youngster out cold. It swirled around Jamie's head as he slept. Muse sat down against a nearby wall. 'Ah, Sandy is out to work.' Muse thought as some of the dream sand turned into a puppy and jumped on her, yipping happily. She tried not to laugh so as to not wake up Jamie. Muse played with the sand puppy as it jumped around her. It was strange the sand could see her somehow, which shouldn't be possible. But the little teeth, the small eggs, and some of the elves could see her as well. It must be the fact that they are more attuned to the spirit world then the others. Muse watched the sand puppy prance around, her head beginning to roll forward. The last few days she had been helping one of her frustrated artist, Jason. He hated his artwork and had been up the last three days in a row. Jason was known for his bouts of insomnia, but this one had been the worst, Muse had been there to hold his hand, but caused it her to become more drained than usual. He had eventually passed out on the third day. Leaving Muse to herself for the next few hours or so before Jamie called her. She slowly succumbed to the call of oblivion, the sandy puppy curling up in her lap. Sleep, it was something Muse hadn't done in centuries.

Jack floated on the wind, a small sack full of gifts in tow. He was currently delivering gifts to the household of the Johnson twins. He jumped down the chimney. He was covered head to toe in soot. He pulled out the Christmas gift list. Much to his dismay this was in fact the Allison's. A present spat it's self out of the bag. Jack, thinking fast, caught it and quickly placed it under the tree.

He jumped back up the chimney, Bunnymund racing past him. "I'm in the lead, Frostbite!" Bunnymund yelled at Jack as he disappears down another chimney. Since the competition with retrieving the teeth had been so much fun, Bunnymund, North, and Jack had decided to make delivering presents much more amusing by continuing the competition at Christmas: winner got gloating rights until next Christmas. Jack frowned, but was determined to beat the Kangaroo. Jack jumped down the next house getting in and out as quickly as he could. Jack was catching up with Bunnymund; he slicked the roof with ice under the pooka's feet. Bunnymund didn't see it coming and took a slide as Jack raced past him. "I'm in lead, You Kangaroo!" Jack said, laughing the whole time. "You cheating wanker! And i'm not a Kangaroo." Bunnymund yelled as he tried to regain his footing on the ice slicked roof. He was miffed that Jack had passed him by, but he would reclaim his title of lead. Bunnymund regain his footing, using his tunnels to get to the next home and placing the gifts down quicker than Jack could get down the chimney. Bunnymund smirked as he heard Jack's groan, smirking as he continued on to the next house.

This went on for a while, Bunnymund in the lead, but every so often Jack would pass the pooka and take the lead. As they were nearing the end of the list, the houses they would go to would already have gifts. They had both reached the last name on the list only to be stopped by laughter of their missing companion, North, coming from the last chimney. "It is good to be first!" North stated in his heavy Russian accent, as he came out of the chimney grinning madly at the two other Guardians. "Com' On, I was a head." Bunnymund griped at North. "Hey I was going to pass you soon, Kangaroo." Jack stated at the two with determination. "Don't call me a Kangaroo, Frostbite." Bunnymund got up in Jack's face, where he was met with Jack's playful expression.

North laughed at the two. "Come on, we have one more town to go! Then we can retire and have Holiday party!" The two followed after North, Bunnymund taking his tunnels to the next town, Burgess.

Jack, Bunnymund and North finished with the houses in town. Both Bunnymund and Jack were out of breath as North reviewed who delivered the most. "What's….the score….North?" Jack said in-between breaths, excited to hear the results. "It appears that Bunnymund and you are close to a tie." Jack perked up, had he beaten the pooka? The suspense was killing him. "But Bunnymund beat you by one." North said looking over the page at the two. "YEAH, King of the world!" Bunnymund pumped his paws into the air as Jack's shoulders slumped. "Man, I was so close." Jack whined and Bunnymund patted his shoulder. "There, there, you have a year to get better, Frostbite. But this year I'm da King!" He said, his Australian accent really coming into play in his excitement.

"Uh, I did not say you won, comrade." Bunnymund's face dropped and Jack tried to stifle a laugh at his face. "I of course won, I have been doing this the longest. " North laughed. "Give me that I want to see the numbers." Bunnymund took the page from North; Jack leaned over to look at the numbers as well. North didn't just beat them he whooped them both by a long shot. "There, there. There is always next year." North patted Bunnymund on the shoulder. The pooka dropped the tally looking at North with fire in his eyes. "You're on for next year. If I can deliver and hide eggs in a morning, you bet I'll beat you next year." Bunnymund said with confidence. "Don't count me out, I almost beat you." Jack stood between the two, North laughed at them. "Well we still have one last house, but I figured Jack would like to go to this one." Jack's face lit up. "It's Jamie's house huh?" North nodded. "Well then let's get going, I have something special for that little ankle biter and her brother." Bunnymund stated as they headed off towards Jamie's house.

A bump awoke Muse, her eyes shot open as dark lines began to appear across her face. A feeling took over Muse, a primal need, a long but not forgotten instinct. Carefully she walked on her hands and the balls of her feet towards the door, looking like a feline stalking its prey. Cautiously she crept towards the stairs leading downstairs. She slinked down the stairs, conscious of every step and movement, hers or otherwise. She saw three figures gathered around the tree, Muse recognized the figures. North, Bunnymund, and of course Jack returning to the scene of the crime. Her posture changed as she stood up; gently she wrapped her arms around her midsection. They were no threat to anyone in the household. Muse leaned on a wall watching them work, putting things in there right places. A naughty idea came into her head as she bit her lip.

Bunnymund was placing some little things in the stockings when a snowball pegged him in the head. He shivered and held his head. "Hey, Jack this is no time for fun and games." He said in hushed tones as he turned to Jack. Jack stopped what he was doing and gave Bunnymund a confused look. "What do you mean?" "What do I mean?! You hit me with a snowball." North watched the two for a second before making sure that the occupants of the house hadn't awoken. North quietly walked over to the staircase, only light snores could be heard from upstairs. He was satisfied that no one had awoken North returned to placing gifts. The pooka turned to show the melted snow on the back of his head. Jack's eyes grew bigger. "That wasn't me! It…must have been…" The realization dawned on Jack. "…Jamie's imaginary friend…" Jack looked around the room expecting to find another person or spirit. "Oh that's a good one; it's on Jack it's on." Bunnymund pointed his paw at Jack. "But…but it wasn't me!" Bunnymund did the 'I'm watching you' sign with his other paw as Jack frantically tried to explain.

While North turned away from the tree to makes sure everything was in it right place. A glimmer caught his eye, he did a double take. He stared at the spot to the far side of the stairs. It was dim almost like it was a trick of lights on the tree. It felt familiar, where would he have seen that before? North turned to his now paranoid and flustered cohorts. "Alright, if we are done, it is time for holiday party." North suggested, he always looked forward to the party and now that Jack was here to join them there was even more reason to celebrate. "Let's go, I think they will like the surprises. Meet you there." Bunnymund said with a grin to North before he thumped open his tunnels and disappeared. Jack was still looking for the entity that threw the snowball, but just wasn't seeing it. North patted Jack's back gaining his attention. "I think there is a presence that has taken a liking to you." Jack looked at North in astonishment. "Jamie said her name was Muse, I didn't think much of it until I was hit with a snowball a few days ago." North raised an eyebrow looking back to where he thought he saw the flicker, his eyes shining with interest.

Muse hid herself when she noticed North do a double take. As much as she wanted to be seen by the Guardians, the millennia's she had spent without much contact other than humanity made her reluctant. She didn't need to be seen to be believed in, it just happen naturally. And that was how she liked it. Muse traced the now fully formed tribal tattoos, feeling the deep groves in her skin. The first of many tattoos, but these were her oldest; scarred into her skin. She pulled herself away from her thoughts. Muse also wasn't sure how ready she was to face them yet. Possibly, she might never want to meet them. Just stay hidden and watching from a far. She liked the sound of that as well.

"Well, there are such wonders in this life. Now come on, we do not want to be late for the celebration. "North's thoughts only lingering for a few seconds as they got to the roof, he ushering Jack in the sleigh. With a whip of the sleighs reins, they were whisked off to the North Pole. Muse returned back upstairs, her tattoo's fading away from her face.

Six in the morning came as Jamie waited so he could go downstairs and see what he got. Muse had been keeping him company talking about all the artwork of the artists she'd helped in the past. Some of the artist Jamie recognized as artist of today, but a few he wasn't sure about. Donatello, Michael Angelo, Raphael, and Leonardo were the names that he didn't know as artists. "Aren't those the teenage mutant ninja turtles?" Jamie asked her, to which she laughed lightly. "They were artists a head of their times, but they are teenage mutant ninja turtles also. Remind me to show you their art work some time." Muse responded, still kind of chuckling as Jamie checked the clock. It was only six thirty, which made Jamie groan. "So wait why are we waiting again?" Muse asked scratching her head and looking at the excited youngster. "My parents don't want us walking them up until after seven." He answered looking back at the clock. Only a minute had passed and he quietly grumbled. "Here's a thought. Let's go peek and just not wake your parents up. Sound like a plan?" Muse raised an eyebrow at Jamie, who nodded excitedly in agreement. Quietly Jamie went downstairs, scampering over to the tree. His eyes grew wide with delight. There was a staff like Jack's leaned up next to the fireplace, little candy eggs in his stocking, and so much more. "It looks like the Guardians are thanking you for your help." Muse smiled at his child like wonder and excitement. "Really, you think?" Jamie smiled widely, his missing tooth having been replaced by a new one.

"Yep, I bet you there is a gift from each of them. Just don't expect it to happen again. That is unless of course you save their butts, again." She laughed while closing one eye. Jamie laughed with her.

"Wait you know about that?"

"Yep I do know about that. It's pretty hard to miss it really, especially when your artist can't draw properly or draw nightmarish images." Muse said as she walked closer to Jamie. "Speaking of which, I wish to give you a gift as thanks." Muse hunkered down and held out a small black box as Jamie gave her a confused look. "This is for helping bring balance back to the world." Jamie took the box and slowly opened it. Inside was a small green and white banned stone necklace. It was a very roughly shaped hook, as if it were handmade. There were chips and grooves covering the surface. "Thanks!" He put it on and held it up to look at. "If you ever feel like you are in danger say the name of the stone, malachite." Muse smiled at him. He looked past the stone at Muse. "Mal kite?" Muse laughed "Mal ah Kite. Keep it with you always and know that this is a very old stone. It was crafted before the 1100 BC. It a one of a kind and I want you to have it." Jamie's eyes grew wide as he held it more carefully. "Wow, that's really old. Is that why it has all the cuts?" Muse nodded. "It has seen better days. But don't worry it's a tough old stone." Muse said smiling at Jamie. A look of alarm crossed her face. Jamie picked up on her look of concern. "What is it? Someone needs you?" Muse's eyes grew big for a second before she looked back at Jamie with sympathic eyes. "Yes, I'm sorry Jamie. I need to go help them." Muse tussled Jamie's hair before knocking on the wall. A portal appeared on the wall. Muse jumped into, hearing the sounds of Jamie's mother come down the stairs. "Jamie, what are you doing up already?"


	3. Hello my old friend

The frozen air nipped at the older man's face, his breath coming out in puffs. He was freezing, even though he was covered head to toe in warm winter gear. He shifted to move his shaggy blond hair out of his eyes. He was crouched on his skates, sweat appearing on his brow. His focus on a young girl in ice skates just ahead of him. She couldn't have been more than 8 years old, her pink snow suit puffing up around her face. The young girls long strawberry blonde hair almost hid the terror on her face as she stood precariously on the ice. "It's okay, Stacy. Daddy isn't going to let anything bad happen, just don't move, alright?" 'Just great, Darrel. What know, I need to get her off the ice before it breaks. I should have taken her to a real lake another time.' Darrel mentally yelled at himself. He thought it would be a good idea to take her ice skating. This little pond nearby had looked perfect, he didn't think that the ice would be so thin. Darrel gave his daughter a smile to reassure her as another crack could be heard from the ice. "Daddy!" the youngster's voice said with anxiety behind it. 'Think Darrel think!'

Green eyes searched the ice, her green hair drifting in the breeze. Gracefully she walked towards the two on the ice, hesitating for a second before traversing the ice. This was a familiar scene to Muse. Even the way the sun was hitting the lake and the chill in the air, Muse shivered at the cold. Hopefully this would work out; unlike the last time she had tried to help. She crouched down behind the man. "It's alright; your little girl will be okay. Promise…" Muse rolled up her sleeves and placed her hands on the man's back, gently. Muse breathed in and out, trying to channel her creativity into him.

Suddenly an idea came to Darrel. "Alright Stacy, I want to inch closer to me." Darrel beckoned her to scoot closer. "But daddy the ice…" Stacy was on the verge of tears. "It's alright, focus on me and we'll play a game." "A g…g…game?" "Yeah, I want you to pretend that you are trying to sneak up on our dog, Abbey. Gentle, quick, but big steps on the count of three, alright? Don't stop." Stacy nodded her head in understanding, trying to quell her fear. "One, two, …three!" Stacy started to take steps towards her dad, the ice groaning and cracking slightly as she went. "That's great, keep moving. Abbey doesn't suspect a thing!" Darrel kept talk to keep Stacy's focus and encourage her on. Once within his arm's reach, Darrel snagged Stacy up and skated quickly back to solid ground. He jumped onto the slightly inclined hill, falling on to his butt and breathing hard. He heard the ice groan and crack as he huffed heavily. Darrel looked down at Stacy who was crying in his arms. He hugged her close and kissed her forehead. "You are okay. Daddy made sure of it. You caught Abbey." He said, relieved that he got her off the ice. Stacy looked up at her dad. "I..i.i.I Did?" "Yep! You did! She yelped and kissed your face." Darrel yipped and mimed with his hand a dog licking her face, she began to squeal and laugh trying to get away from the dog. Darrel stood up caring Stacy in his arms; she hugged him close as they walked back to the house. He glanced back at the pond, thanking whatever had helped him in his time of need.

* * *

Back at the North Pole, The yetis were missing from the workshop. Christmas day was the few days they had off. Most were outside playing around; there were games of ice tag to a snow version of American football. Even some of the elves had decided to join in the fun as well, much to the dismay of the yetis.

Inside a large circular lit room, Sandy and Tooth were hanging out together. Large plush chairs sat sporadically around the room and a massive tree off to the side of the room. Tooth and Sandy were having a conversation, but she had to stop the conversation to tell her helpers where to go every so often. Bunnymund was the first to show up. "Oi, how's it goin' you two?" The pooka greeted the other fellow guardians. Sandy waved a hello to Bunny and mimed a thumbs up. "Glad to see it, sandy." "Bunnymund!" Tooth buzzed over to him. "How'd it go? I wish I wasn't so busy. I would have loved to have joined." She happily fluttered back and forth, then quickly giving some coordinates to the little teeth before returning to Bunnymund. Tooth's eyes sparkling in excitement. "It went well, I beat Jack. But I couldn't defeat the reigning champion of the last 500 years." Bunny said dejected a little. Tooth patted him on the back, she giggled just a bit. "Oh well, you did your best. You'll beat him next year." The pooka perked up a little at her words, the voices of North and Jack coming from the doors of the main room. Both covered head to toe in snow as they entered to round room, laughing at what just happened. "Oh I got Phil so good!" North said, wiping a tear form his eye. "Yeah you did!" Jack agreed with him. After all the times Phil had thrown him out of the North Pole it was good to get him back, thought Jack.

"Ah, Friends, so glad to see you made it." North greeted the others as him and Jack came into the main room. "You two look like you had fun. Blind side anyone, Frostbite?" Bunnymund asked earning a grumpy look from Jack. "I already told you it was the imaginary friend!" Jack stated, mad that the pooka wouldn't believe him. "Yeah, because imaginary friends just like to throw REAL snowballs for fun…" Bunnymund said rolling his eyes playfully. Jack huffed as Tooth flew over to him and gave him a hug. "What happened?" "Oh, we were leaving gifts at Jamie's house and a snowball hit the Kangaroo. He thinks it was me, but it was Jamie's new friend, Muse. I thought she wasn't real, until she pegged me with a snowball early that week." Jack smiled and hugged Tooth back. "Hmmm...I've never heard of that happening before." Tooth said as she was released from the hug. "I am not a Kangaroo and I think he is just using it as a scapegoat, you got one coming to you for that one." Bunnymund pointed at Jack while eating some carrot cake. Although the elves were kind of special, they sure did know how to cook.

Sandy floated over to the pooka and started to mime with his sand. He mined a figure outlined in a slashed line. Bunnymund could only raise an eyebrow. "Not quite sure what you're saying, Sandy." Sandy just huffed and started to try and mime again. "He meant they might be invisible." North chimed in for Sandy, who smiled and nodded. North handed Sandy a cookie. He took the cookie, silently thanking North.

"So what do you guys do for these Christmas parties?" Jack asked having helped himself to some of the food. "I mean, usually tried to sneak in around this time of the year, but that always failed." Jack laughed nervously. North laughed and patted him on the back. "Well, we normal decorate this room and the tree." North swept his hand around the room. Jack's jaw dropped. "That's a gigantic tree!" Everyone laughed at his reaction. "Its tradition, plus we have another pair of hands to help this year." Tooth said while flying up and placing some feathery green ornaments. "Once the star is on, we will exchange gifts and the like." Bunnymund said, bumping into Jack's shoulder as he brought over some egg ornaments. Sandy tapped Jack's shoulder to gain his attention. "What's up, Sandy." Jack watched as he created a bed out of the dream sand, carefully hardening the sand. "Oh is that a way you guys make ornament." Sandy nodded happily. "Yes we each add our own touch to the tree." North placed some ancient looking toy ornaments on the tree as he beamed at Jack. Jack could only smile as he created snowflakes out of ice and hung them up with the others.

* * *

Muse huffed out of exhaustion, her green eyes swimming with different colors. She was on her hands and knees from the whole ordeal. The amount of energy she used to help that man had made her fatigued to the point she almost couldn't move. She looked up and watched the man leave with his daughter. Muse smiled, she could almost laugh at what just happened. She did it, she really did it. No deaths, no sadness, or running home to get help from the others involved. "I can't believe it worked…." Muse breathlessly laughed almost crying from the amount of joy she felt.

"Well what a wonderful and touching moment. I mean really I'm in tears over here." A sinister voice sounded to the left of Muse. Her face fell and Muse's breath caught in her lungs.

"What's the matter, Muse? Forget about your old friend?" The voice said dripping with false sadness and worry. "Vega…What are you?" Muse looked to her left, the cruel smile of Vega greeting her vision. His sharp teeth were mere inches from her face. "What am I doing here you ask? That man and you were both exuding such anxiety; I just had to see what was going on." Vega pulled away a little from Muse, her eyes roaming for second on his crouched form. He hadn't changed at all with his signature dirty red hair that came down to his hips, slicked back with god knows what. His sun kissed skin was hidden by a mangled suit of gladiatorial armor, a single shoulder guard remained of the top armor leaving his chest bare and the skirt looked as though it had been eaten by a lion. Hell who was she kidding; it probably had been eaten by a lion. The gauntlets and shin guards had the same damage to them as well. Muse saw that Vega held his staff, once light blue and elegantly carved, now was nothing more than charred, red pulsing disfigured stick. A loud snap sounded from the ice, drawing Muse's attention back to Vega's face. "You see something you like? You know you could have it all for a nominal fee." Vega leered at Muse. Muse whipped her head away from him. Another crack sounded as a large fissure formed beneath her in the ice. "I suggest you stay real focused on me or your worst fear is about to come true." Vega's voice became cold and full of rage. Muse slowly looked back at him, started to lose her composure, her body beginning to shake uncontrollably, from fear and the cold. Vega hit the staff against the ice again, before she looked up at his swirling red eyes, flecks of purple littering the iris. "Now there's a pretty girl." He cooed at Muse, cupping her face with his left hand.

Green eyes forced themselves open to the still, quiet darkness, the sudden burning need for oxygen… choking. The current took a violent turn for the worse, the form began flailing, struggling to reach the surface. The taste of salt and copper coupled with the dreadful feeling of parts beginning to cease their movements. The being breeched the surface of the water, sputtering and coughing. Unconsciousness seeping into the mind as eyes rolled back and closed.

A spiteful smile graced Vega's features at the haunted look in Muse's eyes. The tremors only spurring him on, his left hand moved down around Muse's neck. The sudden hitch in breath and the panic rising in her face, only made him grip her neck firmly so she wouldn't move. "Ah, ah, ah calm down, pet." His sharp nails pressing against her throat, her heart racing and the ragged breaths felt under his hand.

* * *

The room was filled with laughter as Bunnymund was telling a story. "So you are telling me, you woke up to your fur the color of a greeny-yellow." Jack asked, finding this hard to believe and trying not to laugh. "He showed up blaming me, like I would dye him that color. I would have dyed him pink." North said, a grin growing wide as the pooka approached him. "And I would have made sure you got a colored explosive egg as a gift." Bunnymund said smiling rather puckishly. Sandy mimed an arrow at North's right forearm. "You are right, my friend. He would be on the naughty list." North crossed his arms across his chest. Jack couldn't help but laugh. "Man, I wish I could have seen that." He held his head, laughing at the image of Bunnymund that color. "Yeah, well. Hopefully it won't happen again." The pooka never wanted that to be that color again.

Tooth giggled at the group as she unpacked some decorations. "Hey Jack and Sandy, care to give me a hand with this tinsel?" They both flew up to Tooth helping her hang the tinsel and other decorations. "It is looking wonderful, my friends!" North exclaimed as he took the whole room in. It was the picture of the perfect Christmas. He watched as the others laid out the tinsel around the room. "It does look pretty good, eh?" Bunnymund said looking around the room as well. The other joined them once they were done with the decorations. Sandy stood in front of everyone miming a star above his head. "You are right, we still need the star." North retrieved a crystal star and walked over to Jack. "Since it's you first Christmas, you get to place the star." North held out the star to Jack. "Really, are you sure?" Jack said unsure as he looked to the others. "Go on Jack, you are a part of this family." Bunnymund ruffled his snow white hair. "Yeah, go on Jack." Tooth moved some of her feathers away from her face. Jack took the Star from North, Sandy pushing him towards the tree a little. Jack jumped into the air, floating to the top of the tree. He held the star carefully as he placed it. It seemed to glow without any source of power. "Wow…" Was all Jack could muster as he drifted back down to the floor, awe-struck. He turned to see the others, most of them smiling at him. After being alone for three hundred years, he finally found a place to belong.

* * *

"My offer still stands…" Vega removed his right hand from his staff; it standing on its own accord. Muse's eyes rapidly moved, she was thinking. It was a habit; she was looking for a way out, if his staff was a good bludgeoning device or could she run away before he could stop her or if she even had enough energy to pull any of this off. She didn't, he knew it and so did she. "Tick tock… Malachite…" Muse's face was priceless; any control over her emotions was gone. The corner of her eyes filling with tears as anger accompanying her terror and panic. "I've told you my answer. Fuck off." Her hatred barely covering over the tremors of fright in her voice, Vega's grin disappeared and was replace by a sneer. "Well now that wasn't not very nice, Mal." His grip tightened around her throat, Muse grabbing onto his arm, weakly trying to pull him off of her. Vega grabbed one of her hands pulling it away from him. He lifted her up into the air as he stood up from his crouched position.

A quiet form watched the small group as they went through their normal tradition. Tooth's feathers, Bunny's Eggs, Sandy's dream sand, North's old wooden toys and now Jack's ice ornaments adored the tree. It was quite the sight. A smile gracing his lips as Bunnymund ranted and raved about the chartreuse incident. The unknown being remembering the event, he hadn't seen Muse smile like that in years. He sighed, seeing that everything was coming together in the room. The tree was trimmed properly, tinsel shimmering. It was just missing one thing. He walked over to the group as Jack was asked to place the star. The way Jack looked from the others to the star was quite adorable. Jack finally had found his place with the Guardians and even had a few believers to boot. The figure watched Jack hover up to the top of the tree. As Jack carefully placed the star, the being aimed a beam of moon light at the star, making it shine brilliantly. The way Jack's eyes brighten made the act worthwhile. The Guardians were happily together for the holiday, just as it was intended. He couldn't have been more content then this exact moment. He felt something was missing.

Muse

Muse was always here to watch the group; it was their one unbroken tradition. They would hide the gifts for the guardians under the Christmas tree and enjoy watching the assembly. He always looked forward to it, to seeing her. The way she would glide and prance around the room, Muse's antics of making unwrapping gifts harder, even the small smiles she would send his way. It was strange for her to not be around. He wondered what would make her miss such an important ritual for them.

As Muse's feet left the ground, her struggling became more intense as the flight or fight response kicked into full gear. She gasped as the hold became tight enough to bruise. The tears that had been threatening to spill ran freely down her cheeks. "S..ss...st…stop…. "She stuttered; most of the hate gone from her voice as she began to lose color in face. Her only free hand clawed at Vega's hand, in hopes she might be able to tear the hand away. "tsk, tsk…calm down." He gripped with even more force, a final gasp and Muse stopped her struggling, seeming to have been subdued. The hold released enough to let her only just breathe. She breathed in as much as she could, the corner of her lips beginning to turn blue.

Vega moved her inches in front of his face. "Call For Him…" He hissed as bit into her exposed neck. An inhale, his nails digging into her neck, he felt the sudden surge of energy. Her torment was just what he was missing; humans were a good source of vitality, but nothing compared to the anxiety of their race, Vega was in ecstasy.

Muse felt the blood begin to run down her neck, coloring her tunic dark red. She couldn't stop the shivers of pain, anger and the cold that racked her body. This wasn't the first time they had met like this. She had always got out of this situation one way or another, but this time was different. Vega was done with the cat and mouse games, he meant business this time. "M..M…mmmmmanny!" She tried to yell, but her voice was cracking. A sharp pain in her wrist brought her back to now bloodied face of Vega. "You know he won't respond to that name…." His dark eyes never leaving her tear streaked-face. Muse closed both of her eyes, battling with every emotion possible. The pain getting worse as Vega bent her wrist the wrong direction, intending to snap it. Muse squeeze her eye shut tight, opening her mouth. Muse began emitting a low ghostly cry, trying to shriek through her injured vocal cord the best she could.

The light flickered in the star as it started to vibrate at an unknown frequency. The strange being looked up at the star, unsure of what was causing it quiver. He stilled, the sound was a scream. It was faint and fluxed irregularly, but it was Muse. She never used that cry, not in all years they had been alive. Something was defiantly wrong. He ran to the door, throwing open the door. He didn't care that it freaked the guardians out. All it took was pushing an elf into their line of sight to settle them down. The voices of the Guardians griping at the elf gave him relief that his scapegoat had worked. Quickly the figure arrived at the globe, he placed his has the surface. "Malachite…" The model shuddered as the lights flickered out, leaving only one. It blinked frantically; it was a small town in Pennsylvania. He removed his hands from the sphere the lights blinking back to life, his form seeming to dissolve into thin air.

"Perfect." Vega watched her face contort as she screamed, reducing the strain on her wrist. Only her cry would have Onyx's attention, he had turned his back on their calls over seven hundred years ago. Vega's smile returned as Muse's voice seemed to give out as she opened her eyes; they looked blank, almost detached. Vega knew better, they just gave the appearance of being emotionless; if she was impassive then this next part would be no fun.

Muse didn't want to appear anymore emotional to Vega. It was hard enough to use the call with little to no air, but the fact he wanted her to call Manny made this whole situation worse. Vega had been trying to get him since the stone... Her eyes widened. That what Vega was after, Manny knew where it was. Muse began struggling again, she wouldn't stand for this. If she could only get away from Vega, then Manny wouldn't have to try and save her. Then the hiding place wouldn't be in danger. The pain in her wrist flared and her air supply was cut off again. She couldn't escape; if she hadn't helped in the fight with Pitch and that young man with his daughter then she could have gotten out of this. No, she had to help in the fight. Sandman had tipped the tides. Without Sandy the world would have fallen back into chaos. As for the man, Muse couldn't have lived with herself if anything happened to him and his daughter. It was something she had to do. Muse stilled her thrashing, hating every second that she was in Vega's clutches. She gripped Vega's arm lightly with her free hand. The pressure on her windpipe loosed again, but he hadn't stopped bending her wrist.

"You should have joined us, Mal. This whole situation would have been easier on you." Vega moved his right hand further up her straining wrist. He gently stroked one of his fingers across Muse's hand, still keeping the pressure on Muse's wrist. "You know I hope Onyx doesn't show up." Vega became close to Muse and inhaled her smell. "I haven't been this close to you…what was it seven hundred years or so." Her form shaking worse than before and her eyes looking away, as if ashamed. "Why don't you and me…." Vega pushed harder on her wrist, a gasp of pain, and a toothy leer appeared across his face. "…find someplace…" Vega was cut off as he caught an object thrown at him. "Well now, I see you have as good of manners as Mal here, eh Onyx?" Vega turned his attention to the new presence that had joined them at the lake. The man wore a white tailored suit and a trench coat, his black messy hair falling just past his ears, and he held a rapier pointed at Vega; a dangerous look gracing his silver eyes. "Oh wait you're going by a new name….what was it again? Mammoth or Manfred?" Vega's grin growing sadistically wide, as the sword angled more towards his heart.

"It's MIM or Manny, I suggest you drop, Muse, lest you want me to plunge my sword into your heart." He stalked forward slowly towards the two.

* * *

Hey guys, Sorry about the wait. College has been kicking my butt, so hopefully with the approach of summer i will be able to work on this more. So what do you guys think of this so far? Send me a pm or review which ever you want. Thank you all for reading my story and look out for more update in a month or so.


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